Mandrakes
by truemizzie
Summary: Deathly Hallows Missing Moment.  He was roused by Professor Sprout, who was thundering past followed by Neville and half a dozen others, all of them wearing earmuffs and carrying what appeared to be large potted plants.


Mandrakes

Neville Longbottom had charmed his earmuffs in order to make them more soundproof. The Mandrakes that they were soon going to be awakening were no longer young, and could kill anybody who heard them. There were eight people lined up along the wall, waiting to shake their plants. They were Neville, Susan Bones, Cho Chang, Morag McDougal, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Hannah Abbott. Professor Sprout stood in front of them, ready to give a large, silent motion when it was time to hurl them over the wall they stood before.

It was a lie to say that they were not afraid.

Finally, Professor Sprout raised her hand into the air. Neville gripped his plant firmly not wanting to drop it before he shook it awake. Sprout dropped her hand. In unison, the seven students began to shake their Mandrakes as hard as they could. The Mandrakes began to fight against the motion, Neville noticed, and he knew they must be screaming. Most of the Mandrakes were ready at the same time, and the students began to toss them up over the wall. One by one, the Mandrakes made their way over. Neville knew that there must have been Death Eaters on the other side dying, but he did not care. Instead, he noticed Susan. For some reason, she wasn't throwing her Mandrakes, but instead shaking it as if she thought it wasn't yet ready. Neville ran to her.

"Throw it over!" he yelled, unable to hear even his own voice. She could not hear him, either. He moved his hands to her cheeks, moving her face to see his. "It's ready," he mouthed slowly, "Throw it over." Finally, Susan understood. She smiled at him, mouthing, "Okay!" and tossed the plant as he backed away. Only, instead of tossing the Mandrake in an angle over the wall, she threw it straight up in the air. Neville tried to yell at her as the Mandrake plunged down onto her head, knocking her earmuffs off.

Susan fell to the ground. Neville threw himself on top of Susan and tried to place her earmuffs back over her ears. They had broken in the center. Neville still held them to her head, wishing he had another arm so he could get rid of the Mandrake only she could hear. Behind him, he felt the presence of another student. Justin grabbed him and pulled him off of Susan, cradling her in his arms.

"NO!" Neville cried, knowing that Justin was unable to hear his call. Neville crawled to where they were sitting and picked up the plant, finally throwing it over the wall and away from them. "What were you thinking!" he screamed at Justin, pulling off his own earmuffs. Justin did not remove his own muffs, but turned to face Neville. He was crying. Neville slowly reached for Susan's wrist, the same way he had done with Hermione two years earlier.

She had no pulse.

Gently, Neville pulled off Justin's earmuffs, who did not seem to notice. He leaned in close to Justin's ear, still not used to his regained hearing and knowing that Justin would be the same. "Let's take her inside," he told him, his voice soft. The two boys carried the body into the Great Hall, where Neville began to pull towards the row of dead bodies in the center.

"No!" Justin decided in a low yell. "She's not…she doesn't belong there…"

Neville frowned. "Put her down here," he told Justin, and the two boys carefully lay her down on one of the House tables along the wall. Neville tried to feel for a pulse again, but knew the answer he would find. Justin eyed her carefully and finally built up the courage to touch his ear to her chest. The tears came before his head reached her Hufflepuff Badge.

"Can we leave her here?" he begged Neville. "Please. I don't want her with the others. It's worse than a pile." Neville nodded, but knew that her body would need to be moved eventually. Justin smiled with gratitude and leaned down to kiss Susan's cold forehead.

And Neville left the two lovers in the death filled hall, the screams of Mandrakes echoing in the distance.


End file.
